Wheel of Fortune fans were in for a seismic shift this year when Ryan Seacrest replaced Pat Sajak as host alongside Vanna White. But some things never change, namely, contestants’ puzzling wrong guesses.
While competing on WoF must be a nerve-wracking experience, some players don’t just crack under pressure but come up with astounding errors that leave fans cracking up. From the end of Sajak’s tenure this spring through Seacrest’s first few months as his replacement, here are our picks for the top five most colossally incorrect answers of 2024.
5. What the Duck?
On April 30’s episode, Kimberly Wright from Apopka, Florida suffered a particularly “painful” moment according to fans. The puzzle board read, “DU _ _ – _ ILLED PLATYPUS,” and Wright had a chance to solve it, or at least add more money to the pot by guessing a correct letter. Instead, she guessed the letter “F,” presumably thinking it was a “Duck-Filled Platypus.”
Another player swooped in with the correct answer of “Duck-Billed Platypus,” bagging the cash and, since it was a prize puzzle, a trip to Puerto Rico worth $7,863.
“Oh my, that was painful. F?? she thought the platypus was filled? with what exactly?” wrote one fan on X at the time.
“Oh, I hope [she] isn’t on social media. She gonna get blasted for missing that puzzle,” added another.
“This lady said “f,”” wrote a third. commenter wrote, followed by three crying laughing emojis.
4. That’s a Firm No
Is romance dead? Sajak certainly seemed to think so during February 14’s Valentine’s Day special when a couple competing as a team had a very incorrect and unromantic answer to a puzzle.
During the Sweethearts Week episode, Trent and Christy Turner who had been married for 32 years rang in under a “Thing” puzzle that read, “_ N _ _ GEM _ NT _ IN _”. Trent whispered in Christy’s ear before she buzzed in with her guess… “Investment Firm.” This was obviously wrong and allowed another couple to jump in with the correct answer, “Engagement Ring.”
Sajak couldn’t help but tease, telling Joe and Amy, “You were romantic; they were just practical.”
3. Creed it & Weep
On October 1’s episode, a contestant baffled fans when she didn’t know the name of big TV and movie star Michael B. Jordan. Rasheda Tobias (above) from Kernersville, North Carolina had control of a puzzle in the “Show Biz” category. The board read: “_I C _ A E _’ ‘_ .’ ‘JORDAN’ ‘STARS’ ‘IN’ ‘CREED’.”
Tobias decided to take a guess, answering, “Michael P. Jordan Stars in Creed.” This was, of course, incorrect, as the actual answer was “Michael B. Jordan Stars in Creed.”
“MICHAEL P JORDAN?!? HOW DO YOU F*** THAT UP?!?” one fan wrote on X at the time.
“This lady just said Michael P. Jordan…” commented another viewer.
Another added, “Vanna’s face when that lady said Michael P. Jordan talk about blowing it!”
“Michael P. Jordan??? I guess that’s Michael B. Jordan’s twin,” joked a fourth.
2. Right Where?
DAWG pic.twitter.com/xDBiJq8FuG
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) May 24, 2024
Of course, WoF fans got two viral fails this year, one under Sajak and the other under Seacrest. On May 22, Tavaris Williams made an utterly wild guess in the toss-up round. The $1000 puzzle was seeking “This is The Best.” Partially filled out, he confidently rang in with the answer heard around the world: “Right in the butt!” leaving former host Sajak speechless and a fellow player exclaiming “What?”
“I have never used those words in sequential order a day in my life,” Williams later said on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
1. Round of Sausage
One of the all-time best answers on tonight’s #WheelofFortune. pic.twitter.com/hMPLFrxWRL
— JOE C. (@itsthejoeshow) November 12, 2024
And we had to save the best, or make that wurst, for last. On November 11’s episode, Will Jordan, a Coast Guard veteran and now police officer of 23 years from Wethersfield, Connecticut, rang in to answer a “Phrase” puzzle. Only a few letters were blank, and the correct answer was “Give yourself a round of applause.”
However, Jordan incorrectly guessed, “Treat yourself a round of sausage.” After the wrong guess of incredible magnitute, his fellow contestant Kitina answered correctly. “Will, I kind of like yours better,” new host Seacrest joked afterward, adding, “That sounds better than just clapping right now.”
“One of the all-time best answers,” one X user wrote at the time.
“The best is when someone messes up so bad, the next person snap-solves without even spinning to let ’em know,” wrote another.
“The lone audience member laugh during the silence killed me,” posted a third.
“I tell you, when the lights are on, and you know, the stars and Ryan Seacrest, Vanna White… I just went blank,” he said in a bonus video after the fact.
The sausage snafu most certainly landed Jordan a place in the WoF history books, and linked the internet together in sheer game show joy.
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